UFC on Fox 6 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch

Saying the
UFC on Fox 6 prelims will have an easy time living up to the
main card is a lot like saying the San Antonio Spurs’ next power
forward should have no problem filling Tim Duncan’s shoes.

That thing is stacked, and it appears to contain all of the
necessary elements for early “Event of the Year” consideration.
Fans are looking at a flyweight title fight in the main event, a
light heavyweight slugfest, a lightweight grudge match and a
featherweight No. 1 contender’s bout all on free TV. That is like
finding yourself a significant other who can grill you the perfect
hamburger, listen to your daddy issues and build you a structurally
sound greenhouse for your organic vegetable garden, all at the same
time. In short, I like it, and I would absolutely put a ring on
it.

When UFC on Fox 6 kicks off Saturday at the United Center in
Chicago, one of the things I will look forward to the most is
Clay
Guida’s featherweight debut. Guida has long been a fan
favorite, and for good reason. With the exception of his widely
hated but nearly successful performance against Gray
Maynard, “The Carpenter” is always a contender for “Fight of
the Night” honors.

Guida’s problem as a lightweight has not been from a lack of
effort. Rather, he has simply been overmatched against top-shelf
competition like Kenny
Florian and Benson
Henderson. Guida’s blue-collar style in the cage has earned him
much admiration and respect, but it unfortunately appears that his
limited skills and good -- not great -- athleticism will only take
him so far at 155 pounds.

That is exactly why his featherweight debut is so exciting. Much
like Nik
Lentz -- who just steamrolled Top 10 talent Diego Nunes
at UFC on FX 7 -- something tells me Guida’s strengths will be
amplified and his weaknesses minimized at 145 pounds, a prospect
which I imagine is exciting to just about everyone save for
Hatsu
Hioki, with whom Guida will do battle in a highlighted
undercard bout on the FX network.

Guida’s featherweight debut is just one reason to check out the
preliminary broadcast for UFC on Fox 6. Here are four more:

Hioki’s Travel Troubles

Hioki is a tough one to figure out. Just about the only thing that
has remained consistent for the featherweight over the last year
and a half has been his continued use of that balling “Moonlight
Shadow” techno remix as his walkout tune.

The former Sengoku
champion made his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in 2011, barely edging
talented but streaky
World Extreme Cagefighting veteran George Roop
in a split decision. Hioki’s next appearance, which would come in
his home country of Japan at UFC 144, would unfold quite
differently. The ex-Shooto titlist
dominated Bart
Palaszewski with his grappling, reassuring fans that he would
indeed supply them with the type of excellent performances he had
put forth prior to signing with the Zuffa-owned promotion.

Then came another fight on American soil, and so came another
underwhelming showing against underdog Ricardo
Lamas. After a solid opening five minutes for the Japanese
talent, Lamas managed to out-strike and out-grapple Hioki in the
final two rounds, using crisp combinations and several tight
guillotine attempts to earn himself 29-28 scores on all three
cards.

Granted, I think we can all agree that Lamas and Palaszewski should
not be considered as equals at this point in their careers, but I’m
not willing to ignore the possibility that Hioki is still
struggling with jet lag. After all, it had been roughly three years
since the featherweight had journeyed across the Pacific for a
fight prior to his UFC debut. Which Hioki will show up in
Chicago?

Grant The Great

File
Photo

Grant is an emerging threat at 155.

Don’t look now, but T.J. Grant is
knocking on the door of the lightweight Top 10.

Previously a decent welterweight, the Canadian went unnoticed by
most. In fact, I would still say that the average MMA fan could not
pick Grant out of a lineup if his or her life depended on it.
Nonetheless, the man who many fans might finally identify as a
smaller, scruffier Jeremy Horn
has started a new chapter in his career, kicking off his
lightweight run with a third-round submission of Shane
Roller in October 2011.

A one-sided unanimous decision victory over Carlo Prater
followed for the Canadian, who capped off his three-fight surge
with arguably the best performance of his career against former Top
10 talent Evan Dunham
in September at UFC 152. Can Grant capitalize on that “Fight of the
Night” showing and extend his winning streak to four fights against
Matt
Wiman?

Handsome Man

In Wiman, Grant faces another fighter on a roll who has remained
under the radar, likely due to the well-documented depth of the
UFC’s 155-pound division.

A winner in five of his last six, Wiman rebounded from a
competitive unanimous decision defeat to current featherweight
contender Dennis Siver
to outpoint Mac Danzig in
their rematch at UFC Live 6. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5
veteran was then sidelined for nearly a year due to injury but
returned with a vengeance, going move-for-move with submission
specialist Paul Sass
before finishing the slick Brit with an armbar in just 3:48 in
September.

Las Vegas says this fight is a virtual pick ’em, and for once I
agree with the bookmakers. A win for either man would be crucial in
scoring a step up in competition and a potential clash with someone
on the contender’s list. Which well-rounded lightweight will rise
to the challenge?

Your Powers are Weak, Old Man

It does not seem so long ago that Ryan “Darth”
Bader held a perfect 5-0 Octagon record and appeared poised to
break into the light heavyweight division’s upper echelon. However,
much like the Galactic Empire’s second Death Star, Bader’s plans
for divisional dominance were destroyed before they ever fully came
to fruition.

First, Bader was finished by future belt holder Jon Jones and
then found himself on the short end of Sherdog.com’s 2011
“Submission of the Year,” succumbing to a Tito Ortiz
guillotine choke at UFC 132. Though encouraging victories over
Jason
Brilz and Quinton
Jackson would follow for Bader, he saw his surge suddenly
halted by one perfectly placed reverse punch by former champion
Lyoto
Machida this past August.

Now, the UFC’s resident Dark Lord of the Sith will attempt to
extinguish the life force of one the promotion’s most well-traveled
talents in Vladimir
Matyushenko, who has been sidelined by injuries since December
2011. Can Bader return to his winning ways at the expense of the
42-year-old “Janitor”?